Customer Reviews

The Warlord's Daughter

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I came across the book by chance, not having read the previous books in the series. Even without the background, the story was easy to follow. The author wove a story of intergalactic intrigue and betrayal while still staying true to the main and two side romances. Both the hero and the heroine are strong, complicated people who overcome their brutal upbringing to find their inner goodness and also find each other. Very well written.

I am a LONG time Futuristic and Science Fiction Romance fan. There are only a handful of authors out there in this genre that consistently write a good tale that is not erotica (or bordering on it). Susan Grant is one of them. I've read everything the lady has written. I adored her Star King series and Contact.

I was lukewarm on the first book of her Otherworldly Men series but really liked the second and third books. When I found I was lukewarm on her last book, the first of The Borderlands series, I hoped I was noticing a trend.

Yup, I was right.

The Warlord's Daughter blew me away. I couldn't put it down. This is the best thing she has written since The Star King. If you have been longing for the rip-roaring action, adventure, and intrigue of her earlier books, with a side-order of Sci-Fi and Romance, then this book is a must read.

The main romance in this book is about Wren (the daughter of the evil Supreme Warlord of the Drakken Horde) and Aral (the son of the evil Battlelord Karbon Mawndarr). It is a tale of soul mates, love at first sight, recognition of kindred spirits. After one brief meeting they never forgot each other. Their shared memory gave them the strength and hope to persevere. Separated by years of war, when they are reunited by chance, the seed that was planted so long ago is finally allowed to grow.

Hadley and Bolivarr from Moonstruck return. Bolivarr is still struggling to regain his memory and Hadley is now a Captain and given command of her first ship. It isn't necessary to have read Moonstruck to follow their story in this book. Susan fills in enough back-story so you won't feel lost.

Unaware of each other, the two groups begin the hunt to find the lost treasure of the Goddesses. At the same time, the newly formed Triad and the Drakken resistance are searching for both Wren and Aral.

The 1000 year war between the Coalition and the Drakken is finally over. Or is it?

Just as traitors inside the Coalition has been responsible for the kidnapping of the goddess queen, Keira, one closest to the Drakken Warlord had been responsible for his fall. Battlelord Aral Mawndarr had allowed the ship carrying the Queen's consort, Prince Jared Jasper of Earth, to breach the Warlord's flotilla. Together the royal pair had ended the Warlord's reign of terror, by ending his life, and a centuries old war in a near bloodless coup as Draaken believers had finally stood up to be counted.

This left Aral only two further pieces of business to attend to, the arrest and execution of his father Karbon Mawndarr, and the rescue of the Warlord's secret daughter, Awrenkka. Wren had been neglected by her father much as her people had been. Once, barely in her teens, he had seen fit to summon her to his presence only to parade her before the most powerful men in the Empire, a prize to be dangled and won by the man who garnered her father's favor. Poor Wren was hardly a prize except in the power a marriage to her would bestow on her unwanted mate. Denied the medical care even the lowest born in the Coalition took as a birthright, shy Wren was undersized and wore thick glasses that barely compensated for her poor eyesight. The room had been filled with cruel and powerful men like her father, except for one, a boy whose eyes had reflected the same loneliness and suffering she'd felt in her own heart, until, afraid of his father's scrutiny he'd hardened his expression. She's never forgotten the boy nor he her.

Karbon Mawndarr had been an even worse father than the Warlord he worshipped. Aral would have preferred to have been neglected compared to the daily beatings he'd suffered in his father's effort to subjugate his spirit. He had never succumbed but had followed his father's career path, becoming a Battlelord, currying the Warlord's favor until he'd become a favorite, until the man he had been granted the man's daughter's hand in marriage. He had fallen for the Wren at first sight recognizing a kindred spirit. Suddenly afraid he had quickly hidden his feelings, knowing that his father would have vied for her hand if only to deny his son's happiness. As a favored Draaken warrior, Aral had been working covertly as a Coalition spy. Now with the Warlord dead and peace restored, he was an unsung hero. Soon his cruel father would also be put to death for his crimes, and he would be free. But the Coalition had one last assignment for Aral: Find the Warlord's daughter and bring her into custody. He would find her all right, but on his own terms.

The woman he loved was not safe, not from anyone. Drakken loyalists would be seeking her, hoping to restore the Empire to glory through her DNA. The new Triad government would do anything to prevent that from happening, even if that meant executing an innocent soul for her father's crimes. A bounty had been placed on Wren's head. The entire universe is looking for her. Now his only duty is to find her before anyone else did and protect her with his very life if need be.

On her own after a lifetime of a sheltered existence, Wren has been charged with a sacred mission of her own. She holds the key, passed down by the mother she couldn't remember to the woman who loved her like one. In her dying breath Wren's guardian Sabra had charged her with finding Ara Ana, the long forgotten birthplace of the goddesses, to uncover a treasure and make the galaxy whole. Well disguised thanks to her late guardian, Wren is evacuated from the planet along with other Drakken refugees. Not knowing who she can trust in the crowded refugee camp, Wren quickly becomes paranoid, feeling that all eyes are upon her. Little does she know that the entire universe is searching for a composite of her genetically perfect parents, not an undersized, nearsighted, scrap of a woman.

Trader, Keir Vantos is an opportunist. Since everyone in the galaxy is looking for a royal beauty he decides to search for the exact opposite hoping that his intuition would land him the lucrative bounty. Aral Mawndarr knows exactly who he's looking for and where to find her. As luck would have it both find her, at the same time.

Unbeknownst to Aral, his father has escaped and the Triad government could not disallow the possibility that Karbon had been aided by his son. Now Aral was wanted as well. Their only way off the refugee planet is on the trader's ship. Fortunately, Wren can offer a bribe that makes the bounty on her head look like chump change.

And they're off, on a race to find Ana Ara before anyone else does. Little do they know their biggest competition will come from TAS Captain Hadley Keyren and the crew of the Cloud Shadow, whose security officer just happens to be a memory impaired, former Drakken wraith assassin by the name of Bolivaar who could very will determine all of their fates.

Of all Susan Grant's novels, this was my favorite of all. It had everything I love in a story - romance, intrigue, action, adventure and of course a happy ending. THE WARLORD'S DAUGHTER took two lost and lonely children, one neglected the other abused, and gave them strength and character to put an entire universe to rights or die trying. Both have the right stuff to do what needs to be done on their own but together they are all but invincible. There is not an abundance of steamy love scenes but IMHO they are not necessary as the connection Ms. Grant establishes between the pair is undeniably soul deep. For a science fiction thrill ride that touches the heart, I highly recommend this tale. ~ Reviewed for PNR Reviews

I was excited to read this book, but made sure I read Moonstruck first since it was the next in line after the trilogy that started with Your Planet or Mine. I really enjoyed Moonstruck more than I thought I would and was looking forward to this one. It disappointed. It wasn't a bad story, the characters were likable, but there was no real emotional connection with the main characters. I usually finish a book in a day or 2 just because I get so involved and can't put it down until I know everything that happens, but this one I put down with a 1/4 of the book left and couldn't get back to it for about a week or two and it didn't bother me. If a book has me hooked I wouldn't have been able to stop thinking about the story and found the time to finish it. The secondary stories had me more hooked then the main one, but even those were a bit anti-climactic. The action (what there was of it) was pretty unexciting, the romance wasn't really anything extraordinary and even though the story line had a lot of potential, it just didn't come together as well as her other stories. I am about to start the Star series because even though this wasn't my favorite I have read enough of Susan Grant to know that the majority of her books are very, very good.

The two powerful civilizations are on the brink of the final battle to determine who will dominate the galaxy. The brutal Draaken Empire informs Battlelord Aral Mawdarr that none of the Coalition fleet is to get past the Warlord's Flotilla. However, he has switched alliances and plans to see the end of the brutal empire that his father worships as a man of power. Aral expects his award will be THE WARLORD'S DAUGHTER, Awrenkka promised to him as his bride ten years ago when she was thirteen.

His treachery works leaving the Warlord dead, but the offspring in danger as everyone wants her; the Draaken to begin a revival while the Coalition to end that revival; even earth is interested in her. Forging a Triad, they seek her while Aral also searches for his vanished fiancée, who plans to destroy a mythical treasure to keep it out of the hands of any warrior regardless of loyalties. That was her intention until she reconsiders when Aral finds his Wren.

The latest Borderlands military science fiction romance (see MOONSTRUCK, YOUR PLANET OR MINE, MY FAVORITE EARTHLING, and HOW TO LOSE AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL IN 10 DAYS) is a terrific entry as betrayal for various reasons is the norm. Aral is a fascinating character who has played the dangerous game of traitor for several years while inside the inner most advisory circle to the Warlord; his stealth skill might seem implausible but espionage cases like Ames and Walker prove otherwise. In many ways Wren is the more intriguing protagonist as she goes from total isolation to being the most wanted person in the galaxy. Fans of the Draaken-Coalition War will enjoy the latest saga as the battles may be over for now, but the hostility remains heated.

Harriet Klausner

"The Warlord's Daughter" by Susan Grant is a futuristic, intergalactic, paranormal romance that's book two in a spin-off series from her 'Otherworldly Men' books. Without having read the other books in the series, I was a bit confused at times regarding repeat characters from earlier stories, but it didn't impact my enjoyment too much. I found this book to be a fairly quick and entertaining read, but would really classify it as more s/f with romance than anything else.

The war is finally over after thousands of years and the most hated man in the galaxy is dead. The only problem is, the secret daughter he left behind has just become the most wanted woman in the galaxy with a bounty of unimaginable wealth on her head. When Wren's two guardians kill each other in a battle over her future, she realizes just how sheltered she's been. Now she has a precious artifact, a name (of what or who she doesn't know), and a mission to 'make the galaxy whole'. No pressure.

Aral is the eldest son of one of the most ruthless Warlords. His father tried, through intimidation and beatings, to make his son just like him...and failed. But it was the death of a beloved teacher that turned Aral into a young man with a mission--he's going to bring down the Drakken Empire. After years of subterfuge and fighting, he's done it and now he's ready to claim the woman he's cared for and fought for since she was a young girl. Of course, he had no idea of exactly how difficult that would be.

For me, this was a story that wanted to be epic science fiction. Not having read the previous book, "Moonstruck", maybe it is...but not for me. There's less romance and more...growing up is I guess the best way for me to describe it, along with a history of magic, keys, keepers, goddesses, and future religion. Maybe more will be forthcoming in a future story in the same galaxy, but it did seems that Susan Grant tied up most of her loose ends in "The Warlord's Daughter".

The main characters were interesting, but not quite fully formed for me. Her naivety and ignorance of her mission seemed to be 'fixed' rather quickly, even though the 'romance' was mostly PG for pretty much the entire book. His violent past was hard to connect with the current man we see in the book, nightmares and all. There was also a lost brother found with the exact information necessary, and he had fallen in love with a new ship's Captain who just happened to be the one sent on the exactly correct mission. Add in a mercenary pilot, who changes quickly into a pseudo-hero who fights for what's right rather than what's 'in it for me' and it just became one too many 'coincidences' to swallow. Even though I enjoyed the book, and even though I like Susan Grant's writing, "The Warlord's Daughter" wasn't the hit I was hoping for.

I was very disappointed in this book. Starting off with the fact that the main characters did not even meet in til half way through the book and then poof! love at first sight. There was no build up to anything, the characters were hurridly shoved together and even after they were in "love" the one lovemaking scene was skipable. By that point in the book i just wanted it overwith so i could end the book. Not that a romance needs hot sex scenes but these characters portrayed little to no chemistry. the other problem was that there were too many other characters. two other couples were referenced and it left the reader wondering who to invest in and to many other characters confuse the actual story line. I was bored and the whole thing was anti-climatic. Really the whole book was blah, there was no conflict just three couples that the reader was barely interested in.

I read all of Susan Grant's books, so this was on my pre-buy list already. I love, love, love the cover, which is like frosting on top of the whole story. This is a solid Susan Grant story (I like that she produces consistently great storytelling), easily as good as her others. The heroine was something I didn't think I'd like, but I found myself totally cheering for her. Kudos to Grant for another stellar story.

I count on Susan Grant books to give me terrific individuals who become soul mate couples. In this book, she does it with three couples, all against a fast-moving, action-packed plot. Wren and Aral are the main hero and heroine here, so if you are looking for a satisfying romance between the two main characters, you'll get it...but wait, there's more!

You'll also get two other couples whose romances are just as complete and "real". Hadley, the heroine ship captain, and Bolivarr, the former assassin, are already a couple, but while Wren and Aral are outrunning the bad guys, the reader knows Bolivarr is about to meet a fiance' he didn't know he had. The build-up to the inevitable is tense. My heart broke for Hadley when Bolivarr finally met his lost love.

The other couple, Kaz and Keir, already have sparks flying, but apparently, we'll have to wait a few more months to get the rest of their story. I understand that publishers like to devote a book to each couple, but honestly, Susan Grant keeps the pace up and the plot so interesting throughout, I think they should have just let her keep going with this one. It ended before I wanted it to. Rats. I must wait until Amazon notifies me that the next book is available.

Wren's father has just been killed. A warlord, he was much despised throughout the planet and his sins are now Wren's. Her life is in danger and she is being hunted just for being The Warlord's Daughter. Aral Mawndarr is a traitor to the Drakken but a hero to the Coalition. Having single handedly helped the Coalition defeat the evil Drakken Aral has a deeper mission to complete. He plans on finding and marrying The Warlord's Daughter. Wren's identity is compromised when she comes face to face with Aral. And life as they both know it, changes in an instant.

Aral was wicked hot. Manly, forceful - everything I love in a hero. Wren's characterization was that of an innocent pawn, but strong. Susan Grant's way of showing good versus evil in The Warlord's Daughter is notably well written. Secrets, passion, enemies, traitors - exemplary storyline notwithstanding - I found The Warlord's Daughter to be an excellent addition to the Borderlands series. It was yummy!


Talia
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed